Image: Before a dive, Levi Unema tests the ROV Deep Discoverer’s hydraulic systems while aboard the ship Okeanos Explorer. Art Howard

Imagine that you are standing on an assembly line, and a couple of years later your hand is already controlling a robot picking at the mud on the ocean floor. This is not a movie script, but Levi Unema's real career. He traded a stable job in the automotive industry for a life where his main colleagues are deep—sea vehicles, and the deck of a scientific vessel serves as an office. And he doesn't seem to regret it at all.

From factory nuts to ocean mysteries

It all started with an unexpected call in 2015. Levy, then an electrical engineer at auto parts, heard the voice of his high school science teacher Harlan Credit on the phone. He offered an unusual job: to design, build and pilot underwater robots for exploring the depths of the sea under a contract with NOAA.

"It was a difficult choice," admits Unema, who had just been promoted at his previous job. But the prospect of travel and unique engineering challenges outweighed it. In early 2016, he joined the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE), a non-profit organization. His childhood hobby of disassembling radios and soldering USB chargers from batteries has finally found global meaning.

The Art of Building for the Abyss

Working at depths where pressure can flatten a submarine is a constant struggle with physics. Everything has to be waterproof, and electronics have to be packed in tiny titanium cylinders to protect them from the monstrous pressure of water.

"You work closely with a mechanic to squeeze electronics into a minimal volume," explains Unema. - "The smaller the cylinder, the cheaper and lighter it is. And every extra gram of mass requires additional buoyancy."

Communication is another headache. The devices are connected to the surface by several kilometers of cable, inside which there are only three thin optical fibers. And through this "straw" it is necessary to transfer more and more data from new devices. Unlike crude industrial ROVs for oil and gas, scientific robots, according to Levy, are "all handmade, each with its own character."

Life in the "ocean camping" mode

In the summer, Unema becomes a pilot. Sitting in the darkened control room of the Okeanos Explorer ship, he controls the ROV Deep Discoverer or Seirios, following the instructions of scientists who study the video from the cameras in real time.

"The ocean floor is terra incognita. We find new species on almost every expedition," he says. Expeditions last for weeks, and life on a ship is cramped cabins and seasickness for beginners. But Unema himself compares it to going to a scout camp: everyone is burning with a common cause and waiting for incredible discoveries.

A new round: your own company and a look into the future

In July 2025, the GFOE contract with NOAA expired, and the engineering team disbanded. But Unema was not at a loss. Together with four former colleagues, he founded the consulting firm Deep Exploration Solutions, which has already received a contract for winter ROV maintenance for NOAA.

He is happy that he can participate in the entire cycle: from the idea to operation in the field. His story is a vivid example of how highly specialized engineering expertise is becoming critically important for fundamental science. And although his robots are a piece—by-piece product, not a mass product, one can fantasize that someday hiring a specialized underwater robot for a one-time research mission will be as easy as finding a specialist on jobtorob.com . In the meantime, this niche is confidently occupied by enthusiasts such as Levi Unema, for whom depth is not a problem, but a profession.